Topic: Charity

Charity:

• 1 Nephi 11:23- Charity or the love of Christ is the "most joyous to the soul." It is what will bring the most happiness in our life. I believe it because when I am feeling that kind of love whether for others or from the Lord, that is when I am happiest.
• John 15:13-Greatest love is to sacrifice your life... I want to sacrifice my life in service to my King and His children.
• John 4:18-Perfect love casts out all fear. I love this. I want to love so much that I am not afraid to reach out to others and show it. 
• Ether 12:33-34- This lets us know that sacrificial love is a requirement. The good news is it's also a gift we can ask for.

Talk: Choosing Charity; Sis. Parkin

• Oh how often to I forget to choose the good part. I am like Martha..."cumbered about with much serving"...always obsessing over a clean house and errands. I need to remember the God part is at the Lord's feet.
• Comparing drives away love
• This is the topic I need to study for awhile.

Goal: Pray for charity, diligently!

Alma 22

Alma 22

• I like that Aaron answers the kings question with another questions. Questions are critical.
• Because of Ammon's example, the king was ready to believe whatever Aaron said. There is power in being a good example of the believers.
• Aaron used the scriptures to teach and he taught of the Savior. Just as a missionary should.
• vs 15 is the way we want people to feel when we teach....motivated to change. I think of my time teaching at the MTC when I read this but I have plenty of opportunities to teach now...especially with a daughter of my own.

Goal: Take every teaching opportunity with my baby girl. Be the kind of example that would motivate others to believe.

Alma 21

Alma 21

• I like the story of Aaron because he had a really rough start and I am sure he felt hopeless. Then he was imprisoned and it seemed nothing was going right. But after the trial comes the blessing and after he was freed from jail he was able to bring many unto Christ.
• Why Ammon had it so easy and Aaron had it rough we don't know....everyone has their own trials. But everyone also has their own blessings as well.
• Daily exhortation comes zealousness for God. I want to be zealous for God...and I need my daily time with him to do so.

Goal: Daily time with God.

Surrender

I want to give my all to the Lord. But I am realizing I put so many things before Him. Sleep. Brad. Baby B. Household duties. Preschool. Grocery shopping. Facebook. I hate that I struggle to fit Him in my life...when what I really want is to build my whole life around Him instead of looking for places to squeeze Him in here and there.

But how? Where do I start?

Mosiah 5:13 "For how knoweth a man the master who he has not served...and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?"

I think this is where I start. 1. Serving my Lord. 2. Keeping Him in my thoughts and in my heart.

"Write upon my heart His will." This is what I want. Another thing I can do 3. Sincerely ask Him to write upon my heart in prayer. 

"I have had prayers answered. Those answers were most clear when what I wanted was silenced by an overpowering need to know what God wanted. It is then that the answer from a loving Heavenly Father can be spoken to the mind by the still, small voice and can be written on the heart." -Henry B. Eyering

That is true faithful prayer...for me and my constant begging and pleading to be silenced by my overwhelming desire to know what HE wants...and to not want so desperately for Him to bend to my will.

Alma 20

Alma 20

• Ammon's love for Lamoni was an example to Lamoni's father. Charity is always an example. We should all seek to be examples of the believers through showing love to others.

Goal: Seek to be a better example by showing love to others. All others!

Alma 19

Alma 19

• It is a miraculous transformation. Even in our day we may not have huge experiences like this but the ultimate result is the same: a mighty change of heart.
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Alma 16

Alma 16

• The Lord can't force people to accept the gospel. But what he can do is prepare their hearts. If they are humble seekers of truth the Lord can bless their hearts to be prepared to receive the gospel. I also truly believe he can soften hearts. Which is not taking away agency, because people can still fight against the softening and choose to not let their hearts be softened, but I don't think many do that. I think he has great power to soften hearts.

Conference Talk:
Mountains to climb: Henry B. Eyering

• We just cannot think of trials to be forms of punishment. Sometimes perhaps the are, but it seems to me, more often than not they are just a part of the test of life. When I get scared of trials and want to run away from them or what to think of a way to escape them, I think of Paul saying how "in all things I have learned to be content"...because "I can do all thing through Christ which strengtheneth me" I love those scriptures because it reminds me, there is nothing I can do to avoid trials but if I focus my life on Christ and make Him the center, then I will learn to be content in all things, or be able to bear all things because He will give me strength. When I remember that it gives me hope for this difficult life.
• Faith in Christ is the key foundation to withstand trials.

 Goal: Develop a good foundation of faith for future trials by daily scriptures study and prayer and service.